Power supply for a Dell dimension E310

[GLE3]

I'm looking to upgrade my 230W stock PSU.

I think Dell uses a BTX case for mine. Will a ATX psu work?


It looks like I need one 24 pin motherboard connection, one 4 pin 12V motherboard connection, two 5 pin SATA drive connections, one 4 pin floppy drive connection, and two 4 pin standard drive connections.


Some say that I may have to modify the ATX to work, others say no modifying is needed. I trust opinions on this site and just want to hear what you all think. Thanks!

[citanool]

NewEgg is a good place to look for size/brand specific PS's. With branded computers, I take them with me to small local computer shops to test compatability. Replaced a power supply in a HP once with one that had 4 extra pins [20 vs. 24?], and simply cut the unused connector pins on the cable to fit because an IDE header was in the way. The newer power supply was a little longer, so one of the optical drives had to be moved lower in case to accomodate. Also, use of SATA now requires an IDE power to SATA adapter, but atleast it's a standard ATX PS with more wattage now installed.

[bendixG15]

I have one Dell here in the house somewhere and when I need info on parts, I just go visit the Dell web site.
I know that in the past, Dell had proprietory power supplies, but I don't know about your model.

[redwudz]

Looking around the net, I would be a bit nervous about trying a standard PS. Some Dells seem to use proprietary wiring on the ATX connector.

I did see two sites for likely compatible PS's for your Dell:

http://www.affordablesurplus.com/dell-3100-power-supply.asp

But this one would be the one I would look into. It's a good PS company. The article listed afterwards might give you some good info also.

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/dell/

Here's an article about it:
http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.asp?p=339053&rl=1

And I did see these notes on the first site: AP NOTE: Some Dell cases may have pins or tabs in the top of the case that slide into slots on the original power supply. To use the compatible power supply, the pins or tabs must either be removed or bent out of the path of the substitute unit..

The demensions of the first PS listed: 5.9W x 3.4H x 5.5D Inches

EDIT: I found the PCpower and Cooling PS for about $70US in a internet search. But you may find it cheaper if you look around a bit.

[jagabo]

Yes, be very careful about Dells and power supplies. I think it's been a while since they've done this but they used to use the same power socket but with the pins in a different order. Plugging a standard PSU into one of those Dell motherboards could fry everything.

[redwudz]

It hadn't occurred to me till now, but plugging a proprietary Dell PS into a regular motherboard PS socket could also be disastrous.

I found some pinouts for power supplies on Pinouts.ru. They have the regular ATX 24 pin and a couple of different Dell proprietary pin outs. You could do a bit of comparison between the different pinouts and the ones you presently have and be fairly sure what style you have:

http://pinouts.ru/pin_Power.shtml

That's also a good site to bookmark for other cable and socket pinouts.

[GLE3]

Thanks for all the info, guys. Sounds like I have to be careful regardless... I took a look inside and it looks just like Dell describes:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim3100/en/sm/techov0.htm#wp1052309

Using redwudz's site he found (Thanks!), it looks to be a ATX12V 24 pin.

This gets me a lot further than I was before. Thanks for the knowledge!

[ybeard]

Why not just email Dell's support to see if it is a proprietary power supply or not? Wouldn't hurt.

[jagabo]

In my experience Dell is happy to sell you a new PSU (at twice the going price) but won't tell you anything about it.

[stiltman]

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